THE Guam Power Authority took a small first step into the uncertain future of renewable energy yesterday, with the signing of a contract with Quantum Power Guam for 20 megawatts of electricity from the sun. It’s a big decision to begin weaning our island from the smelly, polluting bunker oil and diesel fuel that is currently our mainstay.

Guam has a requirement for somewhere north of 300 megawatts of power every day, so the amount Quantum will be able to sell to GPA is only a small fraction, and available for only parts of the day. Still, every megawatt generated by the array of solar panels that will be erected in Dandan will be power we don’t need to buy from our oil suppliers in Singapore. That money will stay here on Guam, circulating through our economy.

So we congratulate GPA, the Consolidated Commission on Utilities and the Public Utilities Commission for this decision. Although it is only a supplemental source, according to CCU General Manager John Benavente, this first contract is symbolically important. PUC is also considering a contract with another company for a combination of solar and wind-generated power, which when online will produce another 15 megawatts. It’s expected to be approved soon.

We said at the outset that this renewable energy future is uncertain. Living on a small island, we’re going to quickly find out that is true. Both solar and wind power require very large amounts of land, and land is not something we have an excess of. Once the public gets a look at just how much property must be covered by solar collectors or windmills, they are likely to conclude that type of power is not going to ever be our primary source.

More likely is another proposal now under serious consideration, to convert our existing base load generators to liquefied natural gas, or LNG. Although still a fossil fuel, LNG is plentiful and comparatively cheap right now and is likely to remain so for a long time. Conversion will be expensive, but we understand the utility managers have decided that’s the way to go.

Also, for the first time, GPA is admitting it is looking into small modular nuclear reactors, ones that do not require enriched uranium or water cooling. This is cutting edge technology that will still need to be explained to a skeptical public, but the technology of nuclear power has changed in major ways that make it both safer and cost-effective. It is almost certainly going to be part of Guam’s power future 20 or 30 years from now.

All of this is pretty exciting, and our utility managers, their boards, advisors and employees are lucky to be a part of such a vital process, keeping Guam wired and powered into the future.